Department of Health and Social Care

Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021

Lord Krebs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent progress they have madetowards implementation of the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021; and when they will publish the technical guidance for the implementation of those regulations.

Lord Krebs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what new (1) evidence, or (2) research, has been (a) commissioned, or (b) submitted, regarding theFood (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 since its approval in December 2021.

Lord Kamall: Regulations made on 2 December 2021 will require medium and large businesses, including those with 50 or more employees, to restrict volume price promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for 2’ offers on high fat, salt or sugar products. Less healthy products in scope of the restrictions will also no longer be featured in key locations, such as checkouts, store entrances, aisle ends and their online equivalents. Free refills of sugary soft drinks will also be prohibited in the eating-out sector. These restrictions will come into force in October 2022. The Restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar or salt by location and by volume price: implementation guidance was published in an online only format on 6 April 2022. The guidance was developed in collaboration with trade associations, businesses and local authorities, to provide further clarification on which businesses and which products are in scope of the Regulations to help businesses to plan ahead. The Government is committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of the Regulations coming into force. The National Institute for Health and Care’s Policy Research (NIHR) Programme has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to assess the extent and nature of location-based promotions of food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar in supermarkets in England. Officials are developing further plans to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of this policy.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what investigations they have undertaken into the effect of COVID-19 vaccinations on boys between the ages of 10 and 15.

Lord Kamall: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all United Kingdom-approved COVID-19 vaccines includes child and adolescent age groups. The MHRA reviews the Yellow Card reports received in males and females aged under 18 years old, with safety data from international medicines regulators. The experience reported in those under 18 years old, including in the different sex and age subgroups of 5 to 11, 12 to 15 and 16 to 17 year olds, is similar to that identified in the general population. A review of these reports does not raise any additional safety topics specific to any of the subgroups.As has been observed in adults, there have been a small number of reports involving inflammation of the heart in individuals under 18 years old in the UK and internationally. Since this is a recognised potential risk with the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the MHRA are monitoring these events. These appear to be more frequent in younger males compared to females but are very rare. The events reported are typically mild with individuals usually recovering within a short time with standard treatment and rest.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advise that Pfizer/BioNTech is currently the preferred COVID-19 vaccine for those under 18 years old in the UK vaccination programme. The current data does not indicate that there is an increased reporting rate of suspected myocarditis and pericarditis in this age group overall compared to young adults for this vaccine. The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and the advice remains that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks in the majority of people.

Care Homes: Visits

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support families, particularly those on low incomes, to meet the continued guidance to test for COVID-19 before visiting care homes.

Lord Kamall: Most visitors to care homes will no longer need to test before entering a care setting. Visitors are asked to take necessary precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, in line with general population guidance. There are a small number of residents who need support with personal care from a visitor with whom they have a close relationship. These visitors may be asked to test before entering, up to twice weekly if visiting more than twice, with free lateral flow device tests available.

Wales Office

Cost of Living: Wales

Lord Murphy of Torfaen: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Secretary of State for Wales last met the First Minister of Wales to discuss cost of living issues.

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist: The Secretary of State for Wales last met with the First Minister of Wales on 23rd March in a meeting led by the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, during which the cost of living was raised.The UK Government recognises the challenges people are facing and we have provided a range of support to tackle the rising cost of living. For example, we have provided a £200 energy bill discount for households across the whole of the UK, including Wales. We have also provided an additional £180 million in Barnett to the Welsh Government to recognise the Council Tax Energy rebate in England. This is part of a support package worth around £20 billion over this financial year and next.In addition to this we have increased the National Living Wage to £9.50, which means an extra £1,000 per year in gross wages for a full-time worker. We expect this increase to the National Living Wage, along with rises to the National Minimum Wage, to give a pay rise to around 120,000 workers in Wales.Furthermore, the Government have reduced the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55% and are increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 per annum. These together will see some households keep on average around £1,000 per year and is essentially providing a tax cut for the lowest paid in society UK wide worth around £2.2 bn in 2022-23.

Department for Education

Students: Ukraine

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements, in any,they have madewith (1) the Russell Group of universities, or (2) Universities UK, for the recognition of Ukrainian qualifications in order that Ukrainian refugees can continue their studies in the UK.

Baroness Barran: We have seen an extremely positive response from the higher education (HE) sector who have offered significant support to Ukrainian students and are pleased to see work they are doing across the sector for a coordinated approach to support students fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.All UK higher education institutions (HEIs) subscribe to the UK National Information Centre for the recognition of qualifications (UK ENIC). This service, provided by ECCTIS Ltd on behalf of the government under contract to the Department for Education, has the necessary expertise and resources to provide advice to HEIs on the comparability of Ukrainian qualifications with those of the UK. UK ENIC stands ready to support HEIs and Ukrainian refugees to ensure they can continue their studies in the UK: https://ecctisblog.com/2022/03/15/ukraine-support-for-the-recognition-of-qualifications-and-skills-of-refugees/.My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Higher and Further Education convened the HE Taskforce, bringing together representatives from across the sector to discuss how we can work together on a range of important issues including supporting Ukrainian universities, academics, and students.

Students: Ukraine

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what waivers they haveagreed, if any, in relation to eligibility for (1) financial support in the form bursaries and loans, and (2) UK residency rules, in respect of fee levels for Ukrainian refugees wishing to continue their studies in the UK.

Baroness Barran: The department has been working closely with the education sector and across government more widely to ensure that Ukrainian students are supported during this difficult time. In March 2022, my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Higher and Further Education convened the higher education (HE) taskforce, bringing together representatives from across the sector to discuss how we can work together to facilitate the progression of Ukrainian students to HE.The department is also providing support through the Strategic Priorities Grant to support Ukrainian nationals and Ukrainian-domiciled students studying at English HE providers. We have asked the Office for Students to use up to £4 million of funding in the 2022/23 financial year for providers to support Ukrainian nationals and Ukrainian-domiciled students whose usual financial support has been impacted by events in Ukraine.The difficulties facing Ukrainian nationals and Ukrainian-domiciled students studying in England, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are unique. Whilst providers are already making their own student hardship funds available to Ukrainian students who need financial assistance, we are providing this funding to ensure there is additional support available to support these students to complete their courses.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the median years of experience serving prison officers have had in each year since 2009.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: HMPPS is working hard to retain staff, providing opportunities for them to progress their careers, and significant investment to keep them safe. As at 31st December each year the median length of service, in years, held by all prison officers is given in the following table. Table 1: The median length of service (years)1,2 of band 3-5 officers 3,4 as at 31 March 2009-2021 and 31 December 2021.  Median years of experience31/03/20091031/03/20101131/03/20111231/03/20121231/03/20131331/03/20141331/03/20151231/03/20161231/03/20171231/03/20181031/03/2019631/03/2020531/03/2021531/12/20214 Source:HMPPS - Oracle HRMS and Single Operating Platform Notes:1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. These figures represent the length of service employed in HMPPS, and not necessarily of that employed as a prison officer.2. Completed years of service.3. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.4. Only data for HM Prison Service and Youth Custody Service and so excludes staff working in other areas such HQ etc

Judiciary: Hong Kong

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the resignation ofLord Reed of Allermuir and Lord Patrick Hodge from the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, which judges who sit in courts in England and Wales are also working as part of Hong Kong's judicial system.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: There are no serving judges who sit in courts England and Wales who participate as judges in Hong Kong’s judicial system.

Prisoners

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are currently in prison serving a determinate sentence with a parole eligibility date, as defined in Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Security Categorisation Policy Framework, reissued on 17 August 2021, by length of time between their sentence start date and conditional release date.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The answer is given in Table 1. Table 1: Determinate sentenced prisoners(1) with a Parole Eligibility Date (PED), by time between First Movement Date(2) and Date of Release; as at 31 December 2021, England & Wales TotalDeterminate sentenced prisoners with a Parole Eligibility Date8,511less than a year*Between 1 and 2 years*Between 2 and 4 years159Between 4 and 5 years402Between 5 and 7 years1,030Between 7 and 10 years1,901Between 10 and 14 years2,42614 years and over2,586 Data sources and qualityThe figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.Notes(1) Recalled prisoners have not been included in these figures(2) First Movement Date has been used, as it would reflect any time on remand deducted from total sentence lengthDisclosure controlAn asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one and two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient

Prisoners

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many miles on average a person currently in prison aged (1) 15–17, (2) 18–24, (3) 25–29, and (4) 30 and over, is held from their home.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The requested information can be found in the table below. This information includes male and female prisoners held in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales and was accurate as of Friday 25th March 2022. Age GroupAverage Straight-Line Distance from home address (Miles)15–1748.718–2437.525–2942.030 and over47.4Total45.1 There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where prisoners have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign national prisoners for each country were convicted of each offence category in the last year for which figures are available.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Figures for convicted foreign national prisoners by offence group and nationality as of 31 December 2021 in England and Wales can be found in the table attached.We are committed to removing foreign offenders from the UK by working with international governments and reviewing our early removal mechanisms to maximise the removal of serious and persistent offenders.Since January 2019 we have removed more than 10,000 foreign national offenders from our prisons, immigration removal centres and the community (to year ending September 2021).Table (xlsx, 30.6KB)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Africa and Russia: Foreign Relations

Lord Spencer of Alresford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to weaken Russian influence in Africa; in particular, Russian support for military governments in (1) Mali, and (2) Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has regularly voiced concern at Russia's malign influence across Africa, which includes Russian support to a number of different elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Senior FCDO officials have raised such concerns directly with Sudan's military leadership in Khartoum. Troika Heads of Mission (the USA, the UK and Norway) in Khartoum also published an op-ed on 21 March highlighting how Russian malign influence and Wagner Group activities in Sudan spread disinformation, and undermine good governance and the rule of law. The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organisation. It is variously described as a private military company, a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of President Putin.The UK is deeply concerned about the activities of the Wagner Group in Mali. We are horrified by reports which suggest that hundreds of people were killed in Moura, following a CT operation carried out by the Malian Armed Forces in March with the alleged involvement of Wagner Group. Minister Ford issued a statement on 5 April calling for an urgent, transparent and impartial investigation to bring those responsible to justice. She urged the Malian authorities to end all ties with the mercenary group. The UK is committed to building long-term stability in Mali. We are using UK programming to improve stabilisation efforts, enhance civil-military coordination and strengthen local conflict resolution mechanisms.

Horn of Africa: Armed Conflict and Climate Change

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to prevent people's (a) lives, and (b) livelihoods, being affected by the drought in the Horn of Africa, and (2) to tackle the underlying causes of (i) conflict, and (ii) climate change, in that region.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK is deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa. In January, the Minister for Africa announced a £17 million package of emergency humanitarian assistance to address critical needs in Ethiopia (£5 million), South Sudan (£3 million), Somalia (£8 million) and Kenya (£1 million). In February, a further £5.5 million of support was allocated for Somalia, and in March a further £1.6 million to support the drought response in Ethiopia.Our response to the drought builds on long-established resilience building programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In Kenya this includes support to the Hunger Safety Programme. This has provided 600,000 people in drought prone regions with regular financial assistance alongside efforts to promote strengthened national disaster management capacity. In Ethiopia, the UK funded Productive Safety Net Programme benefitted some 8 million people via financial welfare provision and community public works projects, which promote soil and water conservation.The UK remains committed to promoting peace and security across the Horn of Africa.

Russia: Diamonds

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the EU to impose sanctions on the Russian diamond miner Alrosa following the sanctions imposed on them by Her Majesty's Government; and what steps they are taking to ensure that processed Russian diamonds from any source, including (1) India and (2) the UAE, do not enter the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is working with our international partners to ensure any action is coordinated and inflicts the maximum damage to parties involved in the unlawful invasion of Ukraine. We will continue to work with allies to identify targets as appropriate but will not comment on future sanctions. We are working closely with Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and with industry to ensure effective enforcement of all designations, including those on Alrosa and the wider Russian diamond industry.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) funding, and (2) support, for Ukraine reaches its intended recipients, including (a) local, and (b) women-led, organisations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £200 million, with the government matching £25 million of the public's donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which is helping DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The UK has deployed a field team of humanitarian experts to Poland to provide logistics advice and analyse the evolving refugee situation ensuring support provided to refugees, including women and girls, is tailored to the local context, including the threats they face. Our humanitarian support will be implemented by trusted humanitarian partners with expertise in protection and safeguarding.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they haveassessed the cost of the restoration of war-damaged housing, buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine; and whether they consider that seized Russian assets could form part of a programme of reparations to rebuild Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG is exploring what options there may be to use sanctioned assets, including real estate. The Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has committed to exploring an option that would allow the use of homes and properties of sanctioned individuals for as long as they are sanctioned, for humanitarian and other purposes.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) funding, and (2) diplomatic support, in respect of the war in Ukraine does not distract from efforts to help vulnerable people affected by crises in the rest of the world.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is one of the leading humanitarian donors to Ukraine, pledging £394 million in Aid, including £220 million of humanitarian assistance. These funds will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside the country and in the wider region. In addition to funding, the UK has deployed field teams of humanitarian experts to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics advice and analyse the evolving refugee situation.The UK remains committed to the pledges it has made in response to other humanitarian crises, including Yemen and Afghanistan. In Yemen, the total amount of UK funding since the conflict began is approximately £970 million. In Afghanistan, the UK will have disbursed approximately £286 million in aid, in the last financial year.

Development Aid

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the UK aid budget will return 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income; and whether they consider the funding for Ukraine (1) to be part of the temporary 0.5 per cent target, or (2) to be additional expenditure.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is committed to returning to spending 0.7% of GNI on official development assistance (ODA) when the fiscal situation allows.The response to Ukraine is a priority for the FCDO and the international community. The UK has committed £394 million in aid to the current crisis in Ukraine the breakdown of which is in the Foreign Secretary's letter to the IDC [https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9404/documents/161135/default]. This will come from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. The Department is currently finalising allocations based on the Spending Review outcome and these will be published in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Military Aid

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what defensive missile systemsthey will supply to the Ukrainian Defence Forces to destroy Russian (1) missile bases, or (2) artillery bases, inside Russia but which fire into Ukraine.

Baroness Goldie: The UK, our partners and allies have provided defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to enable them to resist Russia's ongoing illegal aggression. These include more than 4,000 anti-tank weapons from the UK alone. We will continue to provide defensive weapons to meet Ukraine's requirements.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what land-based anti-ship missiles or howitzers they will make available to the Ukrainian Defence Forces so that they can destroy Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Baroness Goldie: The UK is actively pursuing options to support the Ukrainians with their coastal defence. Ukraine has requested a range of capabilities including coastal defence systems, and artillery and counter battery capabilities. This request is being carefully considered within the wider package of defensive military support to Ukraine, in addition to a wider series of commitments made with partners.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the claims by the government of Russia that theirforces are repositioning in the north of Ukraine but reinforcing their strength in the Donbass region, what extra military resources and materialsthey intend to provide to the Ukrainian Defence Forces (1) to help cut off the Russians in the north as they retreat or reposition, and (2) to strengthen Ukrainian forces in the Donbass region to prevent Russian encirclement.

Baroness Goldie: The Defence Secretary hosted the second International Defence Donor Conference for Ukraine on 31 March, leading the efforts of allies and partners to bolster the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The conference brought together 35 international partners to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine and address the country's most pressing requirements for lethal and non-lethal military aid.The UK, alongside the international community, has committed to widening its package of defensive military support for Ukraine and exploring new ways of sustaining the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the longer term.

Home Office

Refugees: Ukraine

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to calibrate the visa policy for Ukrainian refugees to help fill unfilled job vacancies in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office has no such plans as these routes are primarily a humanitarian response, rather than an economic migration route. Those who come to the UK under these schemes have full access to the UK Labour market if they wish to find work once they arrive.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Insulation

Lord Young of Cookham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many buildings have been assessedas needing remediation under the provisions proposed in the Building Safety Bill; and on how many of these have agreements been reached with the construction industry to carry out the necessary remediation.

Lord Greenhalgh: Information on the number of high-rise (over 18 metres) residential and publicly-owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations is available in the Building Safety Programme data release here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data.For high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, the Department is continuing to work with building owners to progress applications for the Building Safety Fund at pace so more remedial works can begin as swiftly as possible. Information on the Building Safety Fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-registration-statistics.We have begun a pilot data collection project for 11-18m residential buildings to identify materials in use and to inform the design of a wider national 11-18m data collection exercise. We will publish further details in due course.We have asked developers to provide comprehensive information on all buildings over 11m which have historic fire-safety defects and which they have played a part in constructing in the last 30 years. We are reviewing this data, alongside other data we have received, to ensure fire safety issues in these buildings are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.The principle of protecting leaseholders living in their own homes is paramount.It is fundamentally unfair that innocent leaseholders, most of whom have worked hard and made sacrifices to get a foot on the housing ladder, should be landed with bills they cannot afford to fix problems they did not cause.We have been in intensive talks with the housebuilding sector to come forward with proposals on how it will make right its historic mistakes by taking responsibility for fixing the stock of unsafe buildings which have been built over decades.HL7588 Building Safety Fund registrations (docx, 22.2KB)HL7588 Aluminium composite material cladding (docx, 21.6KB)HL7588 April_2022_-_BSF_Fund_Application_Guidance (pdf, 455.8KB)

Planning Blight

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions are available to local authorities to take steps to mitigate planning blight.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government has provided various tools for local authorities to mitigate against incomplete developments or rundown sites. Most notably, Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (the Act) provides a local planning authority (LPA) with the power in respect of land in their area to take remedial steps by serving a notice on the owner and occupier, when the condition of that land adversely affects the amenity of part of their, or an adjoining area. The notice should provide a clear timeframe for compliance and clearly particularise the remedial work that must be undertaken.The scope of works that can be required in S215 notices is wide and includes planting, clearance, tidying, enclosure, demolition, re-building, external repairs and repainting. Any works specified by a notice need to be compliant and not lead to any breaches of planning control.The use of Section 215 is discretionary, and an LPA should decide whether a notice under these provisions would be appropriate in a particular case, taking into account all the local circumstances. LPAs also have powers under Section 219 of the Act to undertake the remedial works themselves and to recover the costs from the landowner.In addition, planning blight notices are a statutory mechanism available to owner-occupiers of dwellings who cannot sell their property except for a significantly reduced amount because it falls within one of the categories of 'planning blight' set out in Schedule 13 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. If such a notice is confirmed, the owner can require the public body behind the scheme to acquire the premises at open market value in the absence of the scheme.More information on blight notices in relation to Compulsory Purchase Orders can be found on Gov.uk.

Derelict Land: Prosecutions

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to amending section 215 of theTown and County Planning Act 1990 to allow local councils to prosecuteland owners if schemes have not been completed within a reasonable time period.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government is absolutely clear that new homes should be built out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Where sites are stalled or there are delays to delivery, it is for local authorities and developers to work closely together on the issues.Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 provides a local authority with the power to take remedial steps by serving a notice on the owner and occupier, when the condition of land adversely affects the amenity of the area. However, the use of Section 215 is discretionary, and a local authority should decide whether a notice under these provisions would be appropriate in a particular case, taking into account all the local circumstances as Section 219 of the Act allows local planning authorities to undertake the remedial works themselves and recover the costs from the landowner.We recognise communities need to see the homes they want and need built promptly. We are, therefore, exploring further options to support faster build out as part of the wider package of proposed changes to the planning system. An announcement will be made in due course.

Political Parties: Finance

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce legislation to make it illegal for non-UK citizens who were granted Tier 1 (Investor) visas to donate to political parties in the United Kingdom.

Lord Greenhalgh: UK electoral law sets out a stringent regime of donations controls to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest in UK elections can make political donations and that political donations are transparent.Donations from individuals not on the electoral register are not permitted. There is only a very limited exception to this, whereby for political parties registered in Northern Ireland, permissible donors also include Irish citizens and organisations provided they meet prescribed conditions.UK visas, whatever the tier, do not give someone the right to vote in the UK. Eligibility requirements at UK elections will vary across the UK depending on the election, and anyone holding a UK visa will be subject to usual tests around nationality and residency to determine whether they are eligible to register as an elector.

Community Ownership Fund and UK Community Renewal Fund

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been (1) allocated to, and (2) spent by, the (a) Community Ownership Fund, and (b) the Community Renewal Fund, in each year since their creation; and which projects have received funding.

Lord Greenhalgh: The government has so far allocated almost £8m from the Community Ownership Fund and £220m from the one-year Community Renewal Fund to places and projects across the UK. Successful bids for the Community Renewal Fund were announced on 3 November 2021. The first batch of successful projects from round one of the Community Ownership Fund were announced in October 2021 with further announcements made December 2021 and March 2022. To date £125m has been paid to projects from the Community Renewal Fund and over £2.3m from the Community Ownership Fund. Details of all successful bids, from both funds, can be found on gov.uk.

Compulsory Purchase

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given tosimplifying the process of Compulsory Purchase Orders to enable local authorities to act more quickly where the completion of projects is unreasonably delayed.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government is absolutely clear that new homes should be built out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Where sites are stalled or there are delays to delivery, it is for local authorities and developers to work closely together on the issues. We recognise communities need to see the homes they want and need built promptly. We are, therefore, exploring further options to support faster build out as part of the wider package of proposed changes to the planning system. As set out in the recent Levelling Up White Paper, we are also exploring the provisions around compulsory purchase powers to help speed up the process. An announcement on the way forward will be made in due course.

Treasury

Budgets

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to set out an emergency budget as energy bills and national insurance payments increase.

Baroness Penn: The government’s stated aim is to hold one Budget in the autumn and one Financial Statement in the spring in each financial year. We plan to hold a Budget later this year. Once a date for the Budget is decided in due course, we will inform parliament in the usual way. The government understands that people are concerned about the rising cost of living. We have listened to those concerns and are taking action to help worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. This includes: a £9 billion package providing millions of households with up to £350 this year to help with rising energy costs; cutting the Universal Credit taper rate – an effective tax cut for 1.7 million low-income households worth £1.9 billion in 2022-23; extending the Household Support Fund, with £500m of additional funding; increasing the National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit, a tax cut worth over £330 for a typical employee in the year from July; and cutting fuel duty by 5 pence per litre for 12 months. We have also increased the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour– benefitting over 2 million low paid workers. We will continue to monitor the situation and will be ready to take further steps if needed to support households.

Energy: Housing

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with any department in Northern Ireland about the reduction of VAT on home energy products since 1 January.

Baroness Penn: The Treasury discussed the Spring Statement measures with the Northern Ireland Executive on the day of the Statement. The Treasury regularly discusses fiscal event measures with stakeholders, including the devolved administrations. There will be and is ongoing engagement with the Northern Ireland Civil Service as required.

Safe Hands Plans: Insolvency

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the viability of the funeral plans industry following the financial collapse of Safe Hands; andwhat plans they have, if any, to assist plan holders to recover the amounts they have invested.

Baroness Penn: Safe Hands Funeral Plans has recently gone into administration. I am aware that the current situation will be distressing for customers of Safe Hands and can assure you that the Treasury continues to monitor the implementation of regulation in this sector closely. I welcome the commitment from Dignity to provide funerals to Safe Hands’ customers for four weeks. It is regrettable that bringing a previously unregulated sector into regulation – whatever form that may take – creates a possibility that some providers are not able to meet the threshold for authorisation. However, a well-regulated market should promote effective competition and drive better outcomes for consumers. Where a provider is unable to obtain FCA authorisation because of underlying issues, it is important to understand that this is not an issue created by bringing the sector into regulation. Rather, bringing the sector into regulation exposes these unsustainable business models and prevents these problems from getting worse and impacting more consumers. The Government’s legislation has allowed for an 18-month transition period before the new regulatory regime comes fully into force on 29 July 2022; one of the aims of creating this transition period was to give existing providers sufficient time to prepare for the new regulatory requirements. The FCA’s guidance is clear that providers who are not seeking or not able to obtain authorisation should either transfer their existing plans to a provider which is seeking authorisation, or wind down in an orderly way before regulation starts.

Chelsea Football Club: Sales

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government who will be the recipient of the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club.

Baroness Penn: Financial sanctions do not change the ownership of frozen assets, so it will be for Chelsea FC and the buyers to determine the terms of any sale. Given the asset freeze a sale would require a Treasury licence to take place. The Treasury will consider any licence application made by the Club on the merits of that application. Any licence issued under the Russia Regulations will be in line with the purposes of the Russia Regulations. The key purpose is to encourage Russia to cease destabilising Ukraine, and cease undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.